Ulster loyalist shot dead on his doorstep

A former loyalist leader was shot dead in east Belfast last night while awaiting trial on money laundering charges. Jim Gray, 47, was a brigadier in the Ulster Defence Association until April this year, when he was forced out of the paramilitary group because of concerns over his lavish lifestyle and thuggish methods.

Gray is thought to have been shot by two gunmen when he answered the front door of his semi-detached house in Knockwood Park. His body was left lying in the driveway beside a silver car while police officers sealed off the house and a crowd of about 30 gathered.

Gray's propensity for violence contrasted with his bleach-blond hair, permanent tan and a fondness for pastel knitwear which earned him the nicknames "the Brigadier of Bling" and "Doris Day" - accordingly, his east Belfast footsoldiers were known as "the Spice Boys".

Two and a half years ago, Gray was shot in the face in a failed attempt at assassination during a loyalist feud.

This April he was expelled from the UDA, and was then arrested in Co Down, apparently heading for the Irish Republic; and police allegedly found a bank draft for €10,000 (£6,750) and nearly £3,000 in cash in his Mini Cooper.

He was released from custody less than three weeks ago, on his own bail of £5,000, and with two sureties of £5,000 - on condition that he obeyed a curfew, reported to the police five times a week, and did not leave Northern Ireland. He was also ordered to stay away from his girlfriend, Sharon Moss, and Philip Johnston, a Belfast estate agent, both also facing trial on money-laundering charges.

Police said that the murder was unrelated to the feud between the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Loyalist Volunteer Force in which four people have been killed in recent months.

Instead, there was immediate speculation that the killing could have been "housekeeping" by the UDA, many of who had grown sick of Gray's vanity and bullying style of command. It is thought that he might have been prepared to provide information on their paramilitary empire in return for a lighter sentence. His address was well known, and his bail conditions meant that he could not leave his house at night.

Ian Paisley Jnr, the justice spokesman for the Democratic Unionist party, described Gray's killing as "another despicable murder that cannot be justified". He said there was no room for gun law in Northern Ireland, and added that he would ask Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde about the incident when they meet at the Policing Board later today. Peter Robinson, Democratic Unionist MP for east Belfast, also spoke against such summary justice: "This murderous attack must be condemned by all right-thinking people. Those who take the law into their own hands have nothing to contribute to society. There is no excuse for acting as judge, jury and executioner."

Ulster Unionist councillor Jim Rodgers said: "It is terrible that there is another murder as, regardless of the victim's background, this can only add to the tensions that exist in the loyalist community."

The killing comes amid Northern Ireland's bloodiest feud for years. Two weeks ago, the Independent Monitoring Commission, which oversees the ceasefire, said that the conflict between the UVF and the smaller LVF had bred the worst violence it had ever investigated.

Despite Gray's reign of thuggery and racketeering, police believe he personally never carried out any murders. "I don't think he ever killed anyone in his life," insisted a security source who had interrogated him. "He was put up as a brigadier, a front-man. Jim was a criminal all right, but not a killer." However, on one occasion, a wedding reception at a hotel near Belfast was disrupted by Gray and a drunken mob of loyalists. When the bride's father asked them to be quiet, the UDA chief ordered his men to drag him outside where he was beaten savagely.

Backstory

In the tattoo and tight T-shirt world of loyalist paramilitary tailoring, for a commander to indulge in pastel knitwear and model his wardrobe on Miami Vice was a dangerous game.

But Jim Gray, formerly leader of the Ulster Defence Association's east Belfast brigade, wasn't afraid to stand out. He once arrived for a UDA meeting with the then Northern Ireland secretary John Reid in a floral shirt with a pink jumper around his shoulders, incurring the wrath of commander Johnny "Mad Dog" Adair who roared: "That's some image for our organisation". Adair was later blamed for having him shot in the face.

But the seemingly slick assassination of Gray at his home last night is worrying development in a volatile loyalist landscape. The UDA, the largest loyalist paramilitary group, has spent recent years torn apart - mostly by criminal turf wars rather than ideological splits.

When the UDA ejected Gray in March, some saw it as part of a drive to clean-up the organisation. Adair's followers were exiled to Bolton, the internecine murders had waned and the UDA ceasefire was recognised by the government last year, with Downing Street hoping it might be the first step towards curbing crime.

Gray, who had never been shy of flaunting his drug wealth, had become a liability. Shortly after his expulsion, he was charged with money laundering.

Last month, Gray's old associates began mumbling that he could spill beans to police over other loyalist crimes. Politicians last night feared a return to internecine bloodletting.